Draft Profile: Barkevious Mingo

In the 60's, Clint Eastwood made a series of movies playing a character known as 'the man with no name'. The reason the character had no name was that no one had yet thought of the name Barkevious Mingo. It's just a great name, possibly the 2nd best sports name ever behind Johnny "Ugly" Dickshot. Great name, great athlete, but is he an NFL player? The jury's still out.

Mingo is listed at 6-5, 230. PFT is reporting that he's now up to 245 without losing speed (supposed to be in the 4.5 range). Is he big enough to play DE in the NFL? Probably not. He runs well and seems to move well in space for a guy who spent his entire career as a hand-in-the-dirt DE. I'm guessing that he ends up as a 3-4 OLB, which as far as I know is not a position he's ever played.

There are 2 NFL players that you'll hear Mingo compared to and I think he falls short in both comparisons. Dwight Freeney - watching tape of Mingo it's painfully obvious that he loves the spin move, too much. He uses it constantly and is not overly effective with it (4.5 sacks this year). DeMarcus Ware - this is who Mingo should want to be when he grows up, but he just doesn't have the power.

I keep hearing that Mingo is a top 10 pick, I just don't see it. He's certainly a first rounder. Athletic, plays hard, makes plays down the field, but he'll have to learn a new position and I don't see him as a guaranteed 12 sack a year kind of guy.

14 Comments

Rich Gapinski
- 02-13-2013 01:41 PM

I agree about Mingo. I liked him a lot to begin the year based on other people's evaluations and then I watched him some this year. I came away thinking, "Eh." Definitely athletic, but definitely can be taken out of a play. Plus, when a guy is on an already great defense, how much should that help him? I would have thought it would have helped to something more than 4.5 sacks.

Yes he can, and quite easily. From what I've seen, he was rarely double teamed in college even when he moved to the left side (going against the slower, in theory, right tackle). He's a pure speed rusher, if his first move fails he drops back immediately and puts his arms up for the deflection (which he should be better at, being 6-5) or to get in on the tackle downfield.

I am not a big fan of Mingo either. When you watch him play, it's abundantly clear that he is an incredible athlete with a very high ceiling. This, however, is something you could also have said about Aaron Maybin a few years ago. Mingo's production at LSU, as was mentioned above, was not incredibly impressive. I think that anybody who drafts Mingo is taking a large risk, and hoping that he doesn't just end up as another player with a truckload of empty potential.

How do you guys rate the DE from texas? He was monstrous in the one game of his that I watched. Alex Okafor.

ps Rusty Kuntz cheated on the pronunciation of his name.

Personally, I love Alex Okafor. He does not possess overwhelming speed or agility; but he's very powerful, has a relentless motor, and his hands never stop moving. He's a strong run-defender and strong pass-rusher, and I watched him at the Senior Bowl get the better of Eric Fisher on several occasions during one-on-one drills. Now I don't like Fisher as much as most do, but he's still one of the best OT prospects in this Draft, and that Okafor could handle him so well is telling. Okafor is projected in most places to be a late first-round pick, but I would be comfortable taking him just about anywhere after the top ten.

Mingo is getting all sorts of love from the online draft community. I think somebody falls in love with his athleticism and takes him top 10. He flashes amazing speed on his first step, but often rushes upfield too quickly, taking himself out of the play.

I like Okefor too. He might never be a 15-sack guy, but he'll be a solid guy and contribute.

Mingo has stated that he's open to switching to OLB, which is where I think he belongs. He does well against the run, so he's not just a speed rusher. He's pretty good in coverage too. He's going to kill it at the combine, so that could definitely help his stock.

And as far as names go; Jose Jose and Bacarri Rambo are favorites of mine in this draft.

Mingo needs to develop his pass rush moves to take advantage of that athleticism. All speed rush with some spins. Until he learns to use his hands effectively, develops a swim move, and learns how to "set up a tackle" he's going to struggle.

His height and lack of size won't help him too much either, until he has the full package of rush moves. He may be up to 245, but once the pads go on and training camp begins, he's likely losing 10lbs the first week.

I keep seeing Ansah or mingo to Pittsburgh in mocks. I like the ceiling on both guys, but the team can't wait 2 yrs for them to develop. I'd love okafor in the 1st

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